I got a real accountability lesson a few months ago. I was walking to my car from the supermarket on a very hot afternoon when I saw a group of people congregated around a parked car. They seemed upset and I got curious. As I approached the scene, I saw that there was a dog locked in this very hot car. The mini crowd was getting louder and I heard them say “it’s been more than 30 minutes and this dog will soon pass out in this heat” but nobody did anything, including me. In the next 10 seconds, a young man shattered one of the car’s windows with a trash can and opened the door. Everything was going to be all right. Why am I sharing this? Because this story illustrates the concept of taking personal accountability and whenever I share it with others, the point is clear. Only one person in that parking lot embraced, without hesitation, the concept of personal accountability. It was a simple act that required little thinking yet no one embraced it. The scene stayed in my mind for months and I knew I had to write about it. I have been hearing a lot of buzz about accountability in the workplace, in networking groups and in social conversations. The question that keeps coming up is; do we really want to be held accountable for the consequences of our actions, or inactions? I don’t know where this young man’s motivation to break the window came f